Q&A with Dr. Jahn: Developing Voices, Dentists, and Weight Loss

Dear Dr. Jahn: How long will a young woman’s voice continue to grow? What are the factors affecting how big a voice will get? My daughter is just a few months shy of 15. She has a fairly large and well developed voice for a 15-year-old. But we have been told that because of her petite, slender 5’1” frame that her voice will probably not get large enough to be very competitive after the age of 18.

Dear Reader: A number of factors can affect how long a young woman’s voice continues to grow, some developmental and some technical. Developmentally, the voice will continue to grow for some time after menarche, and the best rough guide to whether she is “fully grown” would likely be bone age, which can be checked with a simple X-ray to look at the epiphyses (the ends of the bones). Of course, a fully grown young woman can be petite and slim, or tall, or more robust in size: the best indicator would be to look at the parents.

Typically, teenagers grow in their trunk and extremities first, and the head assumes its adult dimensions last.

Since the size and resonance of the voice relates not only to the size of the thorax (trunk) but also to the length of the vocal folds and the size of the resonating cavities above them, full growth can take several years.

Now, the technical side. While the voice may be fully developed in terms of sheer power (i.e., lungs and vocal folds), it can continue to change in color and even Fach for many years during a singer’s development. It is, for example, not unusual for mezzos to start with lighter roles, such as Cherubino and then, over time, move to the heavier mezzo roles. The lighter soprano voices (like the soubrettes), in my opinion, do reach their full adult voice earlier than the more complex or dramatic ones. Like wine, voices can be fresh and fully developed early, or can take many years to mature and unfold.

I hope this helps to answer your question.
—Dr. Jahn

Dear Dr. Jahn: I am a singer living in the New York City area. I enjoy your column very much and have gleaned lots of useful information from it over the years.

I am wondering if you can give me some advice regarding dentists. I have a very real phobia of the dentist and need to have some work done. I can’t find a dentist who understands both the fear and my being a singer.

Are there any dentists who specialize in performers and understand the voice? I find the whole dental experience frightening because it is so closely linked to my voice. I am afraid of having my face, throat, or jaw permanently affected.

My current dentist, I am sure, is a fine dentist for the general population, but he has no understanding of singing or why this is so scary to me, and so dismisses my fears.

I greatly appreciate any recommendations or advice you can give.

Dear Reader: Many people have phobias about dentists—you’re not alone! As far as specific issues related to singing, routine dentistry doesn’t pose any risks to the voice. The one thing you should be aware of is that holding your mouth open for a prolonged period of time for some dental procedures can put a temporary strain on the temporomandibular joint. The issues are actually more significant for some wind players, such as flutists, where changing the orientation of the front teeth can affect the embouchure.

If your phobia is about dental surgery, you should consider taking a mild tranquilizer before the procedure. It really should have no effect on your voice.
—Dr. Jahn

Dear Dr. Jahn: I have lost about 75 pounds and have excess skin in my abdominal area. It is bothersome because it really distorts my figure and I have to constantly wear a girdle. I am considering having a tummy tuck but am concerned about how the surgery would affect my voice since the abdominal muscles are “tightened” during surgery. Another option would be a panniculectomy, which only removes the skin.

Do you know how these surgeries might affect the voice? I have searched everywhere for this information but can’t find anything. Any information or help you can give me would be great.

Dear Reader: To get the full answer to your questions (and, certainly, if you are considering this surgery), you really need to talk to a surgeon who specializes in this kind of procedure, either a bariatric surgeon or a plastic surgeon. My experience with singers who have lost a lot of abdominal weight, either from surgery or drastic dieting, is that they have difficulty supporting the voice. They really have to rework the breath until the abdominal muscles have adjusted to their new “resting position.” Removal of just abdominal skin and fat (superficial to the muscles) should not have any effect on your voice. Suturing the muscles (primarily the rectus abdominis muscles in the front) would alter their range of contraction, but I suspect with adequate work you should be able to retrain these muscles to adequately support the voice.
—Dr. Jahn